By IRNA,
London : The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has warmly welcomed the new coalition government’s announcement to review the country’s anti-terror legislation and reappraise the discredited ‘Prevent extremism strategy’.
“The draconian nature of the current anti-terror legislation has been counter productive. It has had an adverse and unjustified impact on the Muslim communities living in the UK,” said MCB secretary general Farooq Murad.
“I very much hope that the review will take full account of and give due weight to the criticisms made by our highest courts of our existing laws on the prevention of terrorism,” Murad said in a statement obtained by IRNA.
Courts in Britain and Europe have ruled various anti-terrorism measures, including control orders and police powers to stop and search with any grounds of suspicion as unlawful.
The Prevent programme has also been widely criticised for being used to spy on Muslims, including by the Institute of Race Relations which described it as establishing “one of the most elaborate systems of surveillance ever seen in Britain”.
The MBC, which has over 500 affiliates, said that while it recognises the need to protect the safety of citizens and the security of the country, the current state of laws had made serious and disproportionate inroads into rights of ordinary people.
Murad said the MCB would be willing to contribute to the consultation process on the review, even though the Conservatives remain opposed to having a formal relationship with the mainstream umbrella organisation.